![]() Save some for the bees and the female flowers who love them. Just make sure you don’t get carried away and eat too many. Male flowers are the ones to harvest, dip in batter, and fry. There are a lot more male squash blossoms than female and they begin blooming earlier. Male squash blossoms are showier and they tend to hang out on long skinny stalks all along the plant. Female squash blossoms have a small swollen embryonic fruit at their base, which will grow into a squash if the bee does what bees do. Check the base of the flower where the blossom meets the stem. Female squash blossoms usually grow close to the center of the plant. How do you tell the difference between male and female squash blossoms? It’s really pretty easy. Let’s eat him and enjoy! Identifying Male Squash Blossoms and Female Squash Blossoms There are several to choose from, from homey acorn squash and magical Cinderella pumpkins to charmingly shaped turban squash. The male flower has done his job and is now pretty much useless. Although called 'winter squash,' the natural season of these varieties of squash and pumpkins runs from late summer to mid-winter, with some varieties available year-round. There are many types of mosaic strains that occur in different fruit families. However, the majority of these fruit deformities are the result of a mosaic virus. Time passes and the little base of the female flower grows into a squash. Rapid growth, boring insects, and excess calcium in soil may contribute to lumpy squash plants. ![]() The bees then buzz on over to the female flower where a little of the collected pollen falls off and fertilizes the female flower. The male flower opens and the bees get busy doing what bees do and while they’re doing it, pollen from the male flower sticks to their hairy little legs. There’s a male squash blossom and a female squash blossom, and without at least one of each and a few busy bees, you won’t be eating any squash. ![]() Whether it’s the summer varieties such as zucchini squash, crook neck squash, and straight yellow squash or winter types like butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and acorn squash, all squash have one thing in common. It’s all a part of that Birds and Bees story your mother told you and when it comes to squash plants, the emphasis is definitely on the bees. Part of the same family as kabocha, buttercup, and Hubbard squash, Turban squash can grow up to six pounds. It’s sweet, as the name implies, with a mild flavor. Read on to learn how to tell the difference between the two. A small whitish-yellow squash with green coloring, sweet dumpling squash resembles a small pumpkin and usually weighs less than a pound. Mother Nature, with her infinite sense of humor, put both male and female squash blossoms on the same vine, but they’re too far apart to make baby squash without a little help. helps.No matter how tasteful the delicacy, why would anyone eat a squash blossom? Wouldn’t it be better to allow each of those blossoms to grow into a delightfully delicious squash? Perhaps it would be better if, in fact, all squash blossoms became squash. So, to all of you who have asked me the difference, I hope this info. ( Roast them for a delicious treat.) Then cook You can easily substitute buttercup for any winter squash, such as delicata, as long as you steam or stew it to bring out the moisture. The texture of kabocha is denser to me and there is just a taste to it that is different. Cut a ripened squash in half, straight through the stem. It was still good, but according to Carolyn, the buttercup is wet and kinda goes to goo no matter what you do to it…and didn’t make a good fry. They are dark green with pale green strips and have yellow-orange flesh. ![]() There ya have it my friends – H ow To Distinguish Kabocha 101.Īs far as the difference in taste goes, I know I’ve accidently bought buttercup squash before, but I couldn’t really remember what it tasted like. Buttercup squashes have a similar shape to acorn squash but lack the distinctive ridges. If it’s bumpy or raised, or two levels, even if it is not a traditional buttercup cap, it still ain’t a kabocha butt. However, the single most important characteristic is that tiny button bottom. The kabocha stem shape is different as well…not squishy. The girl knows her squash and was kind enough to send me the following pictures and tips when seeking out my beloved kabocha.Ībove left is a kabocha squash, and the one on the right is a buttercup. So, I went straight to the expert, reader Carolyn. My local Asian market confuses myself and other Nashvillians by sticking Kabocha sticker labeled squashes under a big sign that reads Buttercup. I used to think that kabocha and buttercup squashes were one in the same, but in fact, they are not.
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